Under The Stars
by Curious Archer
Summary: Robin and Alice share a romantic evening under the stars. Curious Archer Oneshot. Robin X Alice.


It was summer, a time when even the darkest of nights was still fairly warm, and there was a barely noticeable breeze that drifted through the trees, making the most quiet rustling noise they could make as they dragged against their neighbour branches bark. The trees were mostly spread apart, with just a few clustered together, and the ground was firm but also with a soft grassy cushion over the top and little to no stones and pebbles to get in the way. There was no clouds overhead, and it was far from any other village or farm making it almost silent except for the occasional night bird that happened to do a flyby overhead. All in all, it was the perfect night for young loves.

Robin Hood-Mills, otherwise known as Robin Mills and Baby Hood, was stood in an open clearing. Out of habit she had brought her bow and arrows with her, but this part of the woods was mostly quiet and safe and she had never had to use them before. Still, Robin brought them along and slung them both over her shoulder as she waited in silence, listening closely and glancing around at the larger gaps between the trees. She had only been there for a few minutes but she was already feeling restless, fighting the urge to go and search for her companion, knowing it would just lead to them accidentally playing cat and mouse and barely missing one another at every turn of a tree. It was easier to just stay put and wait for her. Easier, even if more boring.

Time ticked by and Robin turned to look in the direction she had come, letting her mind wander a little. It was late so her mother was probably fast asleep by now, especially since she would need to get up early tomorrow to go down to the market for supplies. Robin had left while her mother was busy working, and she hadn't wanted to disturb her so she had simply left a note on her bed for her mother to find when she was done. Zelena was used to her daughters vanishing acts ever since things between her and her girlfriend had gotten somewhat more serious.

A snap of a broken branch made Robin turn and it took all her willpower not to draw an arrow and point it in direction of the sound. She had already accidentally threatened her love too many times in the past, but her fingers still twitched in anticipation and she gripped the bow in her hand, ready to defend herself all the same. Her natural instincts kicked in, but it seemed they did so for nothing, as a familiar and very pretty face appeared between the trees, grinning as the young girl stepped into the clearing in front of her.

Alice Jones stepped forward and her sunny smile spread upon seeing Robin waiting for her. Without hesitation the two girls walked towards each other, meeting in the middle and throwing their arms around one another. Their lips meant and for a moment, everything around them disappeared. For a moment there was nothing but the two of them and their warm loving embrace. Alice let her hands reach up, cradling Robin's face, pushing her fingers slightly into the sides of her hair before running her hands down to rest on her shoulders, her fingers squeezing gently. Meanwhile Robin had placed her hands on Alice's hips before reaching to wrap her arms completely around her body, pulling her slim frame against her own, tightly like she just couldn't get close enough.

When they pulled away, Alice wrapped her arms back around Robin's shoulders and pressed their foreheads against one another, shutting her eyes and taking in the moment, just the feel and the sweet scent. It was truly perfect. Even after all this time, she still found it hard to believe that this was real. After a lifetime of misery, to finally have something that was just so wonderful all to herself... It left her breathless. Or maybe that was just the kiss.

"Miss me?" Robin grinned, rubbing her thumb up and down gently along Alice's hip.

"So much." Alice smiled, opening her eyes to look at her. She leaned forward, pecking her softly before stepping back and taking her hands. "Lets sit down."

Alice led Robin to what was quickly becoming known as their tree. It was large with thick roots that peeked out from the dirt and stretched out in a perfect oval shape that allowed both Robin and Alice to settle down between them, side by side and closely comfortable. They quickly settled down, sharing a brief kiss with their fingers entwined the whole time. Over time they had many dates at various times and places, but this particular date night had become something of a tradition they did at least once a week if not more. They would meet up after dark in this same clearing and just sit down close and talk, sometimes venting about frustrations, sometimes just babbling nonsense. Occasionally one of them would bring treats and snacks, but for the most part is was literally just the two of them and nothing else.

It was Alice's personal favourite, out of all their little dates.

"How was your day?" Robin asked as Alice reached into her bag, pulling out a bright green apple for them each. Robin's favourite.

"Not bad." Alice said, taking a large bite and talking through a mouthful. "I helped Rumplestiltskin track down someone he thought might know something about The Guardian." She sighed and shrugged. "But it turned out to be a dead end."

"Have any trouble? Apart from the dead end bit." Robin asked, accepting the apple and rolling it casually between her hands.

"A bit but Rumplestiltskin handled it." Alice shrugged. "Sometimes I feel like all I do is get in his way. I'm not even sure why he asks for my help half the time any more."

"I know why." Robin grinned. "It's cause he's grown attached to you." Her grin transformed into a smirk. "If you were straight and if he were a couple hundred years younger then I might be jealous."

"Ew." Alice cringed, lightly kicking Robin's foot.

Robin grinned and turned to kiss her cheek. "I'm just thankful that you're all mine."

"Forever and always." Alice said, taking her hand and gently kissing her knuckles.

Robin smiled, gripping her hand before she pulled her wrist towards her took a bite out of Alice's apple. Alice shouted in surprise and reached down, running her fingers over a spot on Robin's side that she knew was extremely ticklish. She kept it up, even as Robin tried to squirm out of her reach, until she finally let out an involuntary squeal and burst of laughter. Only then did she stop, grinning the whole time as Robin sat back to catch her breath, flushing pink in the cheeks the whole time.

After she had calmed down and settled back again, Robin pulled off her quiver from behind her, setting her bow to the side so that she could lean back properly without damaging it. She was careful about leaning the bow upright against the tree by her head with the quiver lying beside it and the arrows pointed towards her legs in case she needed a quick grab for whatever reason. When she turned back to her love she found Alice looking at her with an familiarly curious expression on her face. Robin saw that face on Alice a lot, but this was the first time that look was directed in something in Robin's direction.

"What?" Robin asked.

Alice turned to look up at her, batting her eyes and reaching to run a hand up Robin's leg. "Can I try your bow?"

"Seriously?" Robin laughed. "You don't have to seduce me for that." She climbed onto her feet. "Come on. I'll do you one better than letting you have a try. I'll give you a lesson."

Alice excitedly jumped to her feet, practically bouncing as Robin collected the bow and a single arrow from her quiver. Robin put them in place for her before moving to stand directly behind Alice. "Put your hand here." She said, reaching around and guiding Alice's hand to the bow. "And your other hand pinches the arrow here." She now had both her arms looped around her, resting her chin on Alice's shoulder. "Keep a firm grip, but not too tight. It'll throw you off and make your hands and arms ache later."

"My arms already aching." Alice giggled.

"Try not to be so tense." Robin advised. "Hold it, but don't stand stiff."

"Okay." Alice mumbled, taking a breath and willing her arms to slacken slightly.

"Not too much." Robin warned. "Part your feet slightly, try to make them match mine for a proper balance, and turn your upper body a little, like this." She placed her hands on Alice's hips and guide her. "When you're ready, pull the bow back as far as you can and hold it there in place."

"Easy for you to say." Alice mumbled, pulling the bow back, surprised by how heavy it was. "You're stronger than me."

"Years of practice." Robin grinned, placing her hands gently over Alice's. "But you're doing great. Now line up your shot. Try and aim for that tree there." She pointed in front of them.

"It's practically right in front of us." Alice complained.

"And you still probably won't hit it." Robin teased. "Just try."

Alice wet her lips, determined to prove she could, and released the arrow, forgetting to aiming completely. As a result, the arrow missed the tree completely and embedded in the tree to its right, five feet behind it.

"Shit." Alice swore.

"Not bad." Robin commended, nodding her head in approval.

"I missed the tree." Alice grumbled.

"Yeah but you got it in that one. I half expected the arrow to hit the ground." Robin grinned. Then, before Alice could elbow her, she grabbed another arrow and helped Alice put it in place. "Try another. This time, aim a little to the left and take your time."

Alice immediately pulled the arrow back and this time remembered to aim it. She felt Robin nudging her feet apart slightly and turning her waist back into proper position again but tried not to think about any of that. It was a little distracting to have her pressing so close to her like this, not to mention rubbing her hands over her hips and nudging her legs. Instead she focussed on her arms, keeping the arrow and bow in position as she shut one eye like she had seen a couple of people do in the past and tried to line up the arrow with the tree she had originally been intending to hit the first time round. After a second of holding her breath she released the arrow.

This time it skimmed the tree, just barely cutting the bark before doing exactly as Robin had predicted and skirting along the ground instead. It got quite a bit further than the other arrow, almost completely into the distant shadows, but they could still make out the faint feathers sticking up in the air even from where they were stood watching. Alice cursed again but Robin had already moved to collect a third arrow, putting her arms back around her and guiding her hands and body once more.

"This time, take a breath before you release." Robin explained. "Just a slow deep breath, in and out, then let go."

"Okay." Alice nodded firmly, determined to do it this time. She resisted the urge to press back against Robin for support and positioned herself as Robin told her (though Robin still had to correct her feet when she made them a little too far apart), pulling the arrow back and taking aim as she had done before. She shut her eye, squinted and positioned the arrow as best as she could. This time, she took a deep breath in through her nose, releasing it out of her mouth slowly, forming a small O with her lips so that her breath almost whistled.

"You got this." Robin breathed into her ear, nudging her hand just slightly to the left before Alice let go.

The arrow hit the tree just a little off centre. It wasn't the great shot that Robin could have easily made, in fact an amateur could probably do the same if not better, but at least it had hit its intended target and it was firmly stuck into the wood.

Alice felt herself break into an grin, letting out a little cheer, even going so far as to jump in the air before she turned to face Robin. Still grinning widely, she reached over, wrapping one arm around the back of her neck and pulling her into a hard kiss. Robin reacted instantly, sliding her hands halfway up Alice's back and returning the kiss with equal force, catching onto Alice's excitement. At first it was a simple closed mouth kiss, but then Alice tightened her hold on her and pushed Robin's lips open with her own, sliding her tongue out to graze against Robin's slowly. With their arms still wrapped around each other, Alice bent down, pulling Robin with her until they dropped to the ground.

Alice positioned herself so that she could lean over Robin, the bow lying forgotten by their side as she reached down to rub her hands over Robin's chest, deepening the kiss and pulling at her shirt until her fingers finally found their way under, drifting up towards her bra. Robin gasped at her cold touch of her fingers but didn't pull away, lacing her fingers through Alice's hair while her other hand reached to stroke the top of her thigh. She only pulled away long enough to turn her head and begin kissing along Alice's neck, sucking on the skin gently until there was a small purplish bruise left when she finally pulled back again.

While Robin and Alice's lips met again, Alice's pulled her hands out and began to undo all the lace of Robin's shirt, pushing the material aside and reaching to undo the clasp of her bra. As soon as her chest was completely exposed, Alice lowered her head and began to trail kisses down along her neck, beside her collar bone and over each of her breast, moving from one to the other while her hands caressed her sides and stomach. She listened closely, enjoying the way Robin's breath began to pick up as her hands trailed down her lips and her lips played with the sensitive skin over her chest. Robin reached down, stroking her fingers through Alice's long tangled hair affectionately, lying back and shutting her eyes with a content sigh. Then Alice began to guide her hands further south and let her fingers fall down to where they began to undo Robin's trousers.

"Wait." Robin breathed, pushing her body to sit up. Alice immediately sat back on her heels, despite her beating heart beat and her desire to keep going. Part of her was event tempted to just kiss her quiet again and push her back down but she heard something in Robin's voice that gave her pause.

"What's wrong?" Alice whispered, shuffling to sit comfortable on one of Robin's legs, leaning towards her slightly.

"Are you sure?" Robin asked, reaching to rub Alice's shoulder. "I mean, doing it here. Out in the open?"

"Yeah." Alice grinned. "It's kind of... Exciting, isn't it?" She kissed her jaw. "We can stop if you want but..." She kissed her again. "I'm having fun."

Robin couldn't help but smile as she felt Alice kiss along the side of her neck, then tail down, pushing her shoulders gently and encouraging her to lay back. Alice moved slowly to give Robin a chance to stop her, just in case... Instead Robin caught her off guard. She reached up, grabbing Alice's hips, gripping tightly as she rolled sharply to the side so that she ended up on top of her. Alice squealed and grinned up as her as Robin began to push her skirts up her legs, leaning down to kiss her repeatedly as her fingers began to toy with her underwear. Each kiss was short and innocent, which left Alice extremely irritated and unsatisfied, wanting more but unable to get it. Every time she leaned up or reached to pull Robin down to her, Robin put a hand in the way to keep her in place at a frustrating distance, still using one hand to stroke her legs and pull off her underwear, but never going any further.

"Seriously?" Alice said, after the fifth time of trying to get a proper kiss out of her.

"No need to rush things." Robin whispered, taking Alice's hands and pinning them either side of her head, leaning down to peck her lips again.

Alice raised an eyebrow as she pulled away, grinning down at her. When Robin moved in for another quick peck, Alice lifted her legs, wrapping them around Robin's waist and jerking her to the side. Once again they rolled over, and once again it ended with Alice landing on top.

"My turn." Alice teased, leaning down and kissing along her neck and breasts again.

"You really don't know how to go slow, do you?" Robin smirked.

"So I'm impatient." Alice grumbled, reaching and pushing Robin's trousers down and out of the way, falling forward to kiss her deeply with a audible moan of relief, no longer being held back.

From there, the two quickly became completely absorbed in one another's embrace. The rest of the night faded around them until there was nothing left in the world but each other.

 **O*U*A*T**

"I think I saw stars." Robin whispered dreamily.

"You sure you didn't just look past my head?" Alice joked.

The girls hadn't moved from where they had finally settled in the middle of the clearing, though they had pulled Robin's cloak to rest over their sweaty bodies, if only out of habit more than anything else. They were both glad for the warm air with the gentle breeze that both cooled them down while also keeping them from needing to get dressed right away. The best part about their nights together was the aftermath. They both enjoyed the moment where they could just hold one another afterwards and rest for a few extra minutes before remembering the rest of the world existed.

"Very funny." Robin laughed, pulling Alice close to her. She paused, looking up through the tree branches. "Though the stars are pretty bright tonight."

"I hate the stars." Alice grumbled, rolling to lie on her side and pressed her cold nose against Robin's cheek.

"Why?" Robin blinked.

"They're all I ever saw from the tower. Looking out the window it was all just stars and moons and constant sunsets and sunrises that I could never experience anywhere else. They all kind of lose their romantic appeal after a while when you know it's going to be the same sight every night from your lonely prison." Alice grumbled, tracing a finger along the side of Robin's neck.

"But you're free now." Robin noted. "They can have a whole new meaning for you now."

"Maybe, but for now they're just a constant reminder." Alice said quietly. "I'd rather see new things than look at the same old sky every night."

Robin leaned her head into her arm, propping herself up slightly. "Are you telling me, after everything we just did, you're still only going to think of the tower when you see the stars? Nothing else will come to mind?"

Alice grinned up at her. "Are you asking if I'm going to get wet now whenever I look at the stars?"

"Yes I am!" Robin laughed.

Alice pressed her lips together, looking deep in thought before shrugging. "Maybe a lil." She said, holding her thumb and finger close together in front of her face.

"So what I'm hearing is that we are going to have to do this a whole lot more often now, in order to erase all the bad memories you have of the tower." Robin suggested.

"I like that plan." Alice beamed.

"Shall we go another round now then?" Robin teased.

"You think you could?!" Alice asked incredulous, not sure if the idea excited or exhausted her.

Robin kept her confident smile on for another second before giggling and shaking her head, flopping back down. "No. Actually I think I could literally go to sleep right here."

"I wouldn't recommend it." Alice noted. "It's quiet at night but I'm pretty sure people come and go through these woods all the time during the day. I imagine we might cause a bit of a spectacle if someone saw us like this."

"What, you don't like the idea of an audience?" Robin smirked.

"Nope. I think having people watch is passed my limit for exciting new things to try with you." Alice giggled.

"Well there's still plenty of other things." Robin shrugged suggestively.

"True. And I can't wait to try all of them with you." Alice said, moving to kiss and nuzzle her cheek.

"Not with Rumplestiltskin?" Robin asked innocently.

"Ugh!" Alice rolled away, sitting up, letting Robin's cloak fall down into her lap. "You just completely killed the mood. You killed it, burned it and buried it ten feet under."

"What? You don't think he'd be interested in a pretty young thing like you?" Robin asked, pushing up on her elbows.

"No. He'd probably gag just as much as I am right now." Alice said with a overly dramatic heave.

Laughing, Robin moved to cradle her face in her hands. "Here, let me help you forget that image." She kissed her, softly at first then slowly deeper before pulling back and smiling at her softly. "Better?"

"Yeah..." Alice whispered, then winced and shook her head. "Nope. No, you truly ruined the mood. It's stuck there and now I feel dirty."

Laughing again, Robin pulled Alice back into her arms, holding her down and kissing her again. "I'll just have to keep trying then, won't I?"

Alice laughed with her, returning the kiss and cuddling against her side. They lay there for a few minutes, enjoying just how perfectly their body shapes seemed to fit once another.

Unfortunately it had to end at some point. "We should probably get dressed soon." Alice noted, trying to keep from scowling at her own words.

"Eventually." Robin shrugged, leaning down to trail slow kisses along her jaw and to the back of her ear.

Alice giggled, leaning back and relaxing in Robin's arms. She found herself stuck on her back, staring up to the very stars she had just been complaining about. They did bring back bad memories. Nights of staring out the tower, wishing she could somewhere else, anywhere else, dreaming of touching the distant horizon and seeing what was truly behind the mountains that blocked the little view she had left. Not to mention dreaming of sharing this view with people other than her father, who was the only other person she had known for such a long time. It was such a miserable memory that she almost felt like crying at the thought.

But Robin was right. There was also a new memory now. This one. The one of being with the woman she loved for a night of passion and constant laughter. Now she could look at the stars and see Robin's face grinning down at her, eyes shining with their own starlight and remember the warm feeling of the kisses she left along her neck and body. Of course, there was more than one love bite left over to remind her as well. Alice had a feeling she might be wearing something to hide them from her father for the next few times she saw him, otherwise suffer another round of teasing like the time he had pointed out she was wearing Robin's cloak by mistake instead of her own.

"Where has your mind gone now, love?" Robin asked, pulling away from her neck to look down, half blocking her view of the sky and stars above.

"Your cloak." Alice said honestly, smiling up at her. "I like wearing it."

"Random." Robin grinned.

"That's me in a nutshell." Alice shrugged, then shivered. "Okay. Either we go for another tumble, or I need to get dressed. It's getting cold."

"I'm still beat." Robin laughed, climbing to her knees before pausing to wink at her. "But mornings only a few hours away."

With that notion to look forward to, Robin reached over for their clothes nearby. They had managed not to toss everything too far from where they lay though Alice's underwear was noticeable absent among the rest of the materials.

"Typical." Alice said, rolling her eyes but was still smiling as they both got dressed (as much as they could).

A few minutes later, they had dragged themselves back to their original spot, leaning against the tree. Alice still felt wide awake but Robin had leaned her head on her shoulder and her eyes were visibly drooping. She was clearly struggling to keep from drifting off and after a moment Alice reached around to put an arm around her shoulders. Robin relaxed against her as Alice quietly began to hum the lullaby that her father had sung to her many times growing up. It was the only song she knew off by heart and even if it was for children, it would always be Alice's favourite.

When Alice finished the song she glanced down to find Robin was now fast asleep against her. She looked so beautiful when she was sleeping, so serene and perfect. Alice had to resist the strong urge to lean down and kiss her, worrying that the movement might disturb her slumber, and instead Alice settled with putting her other arm over her, resting her head against Robin's and allowing herself to drift off as well.

Alice didn't fall asleep straight away, but she didn't mind being awake for most of the night. In fact she enjoyed having a private moment all to herself, holding Robin for most of the night and wondering how she managed to get so lucky as to find someone as amazing as her to return her feelings. Her childhood and younger years may have been full of curses and tower prisons, but it was all worth it so long as it led to her finding Robin. Her one and only true love.

Finally, Alice fell asleep.


End file.
